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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Nov 28, 2012 - 05:36pm PT
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Not climbing porn! There is some great footage, for sure, with some earthy grunting, but there's much more going on, on a number of levels.
For instance there's a great interview with Bob Scarpelli where he talks about the "craft" of the seasoned offwidth climber that is hidden under the brutal physicality of the effort involved.
But the wide boys had almost no wide experience; they just trained indoors for two years and became so strong they hoped they could do the hardest offwidths. And this paid off. They told me, at one point far into their trip, they were bored with the "merely" vertical fare at Indian Creek. They were so strong that they could master any possible wide technique; there was not a vertical offwidth anywhere that would pose much of a challenge.
So, since they had no apprenticeship, no grounding in years of weekend after weekend wallowing up wide moderates at Vedauwoo of Indian Creek, where is their "craft"?
Perhaps Bob had it wrong?
Watch the movie, think it through, figure it out.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Nov 28, 2012 - 05:49pm PT
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Shanti ain't banging wyde slots in this one?
Pfft.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Nov 28, 2012 - 06:39pm PT
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No, It's you BAILING, Locker!!!!
hee hee hee. . .
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Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
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Nov 28, 2012 - 07:25pm PT
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I saw the shorter version at RR7, it was WAY FUN and these chaps made a few old timers take notice.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Nov 29, 2012 - 10:32am PT
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got it downloaded last night... watch it tonight...
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Cole
Trad climber
los angeles
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Nov 29, 2012 - 02:40pm PT
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Looking forward to your review Russ!
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ec
climber
ca
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Nov 29, 2012 - 04:57pm PT
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I watched it and enjoyed the film. However, IMO, seemed unfinished in several aspects and definitely fell short of any award winning flick. My wife felt that the film missed a 'human' aspect about what these boyz did for a living; were they pros, bums or worked jobs? The only thing that had a thread to this was the interview of the wife of one of the boyz. I felt like mentioned up-thread that when they initially failed/flailed when they came to the US, there could have been a bit more of overcoming that hurdle, that progression and also more on the routes they did do. On the Century Crack it really didn't show the true 'brutality' of it (I guess I wanted to see more detail). As far as the pre-placed pro vs trad on sight dilemma, I think these boyz set themselves up for the style criticism by not setting their bar high enough (really!). What I mean is that they should have expected to follow local ethics and traditions if they wanted to gain the respect of their peers. (edit: in the film they obviously felt the pressure and 'need' to 'do it right.')
 ec
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ec
climber
ca
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Nov 30, 2012 - 12:43am PT
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Bump for more takes on this flick...
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Nov 30, 2012 - 01:55am PT
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Chuck Pratt was reported to have proclaimed on a trip to the desert southwest, while looking out over the sandstone cliffs "this is the future of American crack climbing."
In his article "A View from Deadhorse Point," Ascent 1970, he wrote
"Southern Utah contains landscapes so alien to anything in our experience that we feel that we are traveling on the moon.... areas where ancient varieties of sandstone have congealed like damp soot into formations so grotesque and fragile that climbing is out of the question: much of this country is for the eye only - great reefs of crimson rock, scalloped and capped with foam, stretch across vast areas of the desert plain like waves frozen in time at the instant before breaking."
And now, it's hard to believe, 47 years after Pratt took in that view one of the most difficult crack climbs in the world is done in that "oceanic expanse of crumbling sandstone..." Perhaps it's appropriate that Pratt would have that vision, being among the first masters of Yosemite crack climbing, and the author of legendary lines that remain worthy goals.
In that time we could see the progress in technique and hardware and determination to find the key to unlocking these climbs and this kind of climbing. The expansion beyond the fishbowl that is Yosemite to unlikely locations, Woodson, Vedauwoo, and in the Southwest, Indian Creek and beyond.
And there is the modern recurrence of interest in offwidth which has seen an amazing set of young climbers who have trained hard and paid their dues, and reaped the rewards in that they have pushed forward into this frontier of climbing.
There is a rich history to tell which leads up to an accomplishment like Century Crack, and perhaps that story will be told one day.
The Wide Boyz movie is a great retelling of the tale of these dedicated climbers who trained hard in the UK to accomplish an impossible dream. I truly enjoyed it, obviously the training techniques were familiar even if what I know and have done doesn't come close to accomplishing that the level of fitness. This isn't unusual among the best young climbers in this particular game, as everyone knows OW requires this sort of preparation.
It was great to see the "old guys" talking heads, and while I have no doubt that Scarpelli sees OW as the "Sweet Science" of rock climbing, I don't quite see it that way, though the brutality is there, it is self inflicted, and that is the result of individual desire. Everyone has a different take.
The climbing sequences is quite amazing, but perhaps it has become too easy to sit in a chair and drink a cool one and watch these amazing performances on stunning video, but their effort is recognizable to anyone who has struggled successfully in a wide crack for distance, and usually a distance much shorter than that incredible pitch.
It was great to hear of the emotional release that Tom and Pete felt, we didn't really get to see it expressed, perhaps a bit of famous British reserve... and as to why they thought it impossible, well it is important to recognize that "impossible" is usually a word that comes out of a history of experience and attempts, Steve Haston among them, and while "impossible" comes up, there is a lot of wise advise and teaching that goes on to prepare to do something impossible.
More impressive is learning that someone went out and did something "impossible" and didn't know it at the time... because no one else knew it either and no pronouncement could be made before the fact. And then there are those impossible deeds that no one else is party to.
Given the setting of this climb, Century Crack, in the context of the history of crack climbing and in the resurgence of OW, the amazing climbs on Tom and Pete's list which they worked through very quickly, the many other players on the scene who have upped the whole game, the accomplishment which we get to witness lacks the background to really get the viewer to appreciate it. And one wonders now that having been shown the way, the "how," that gets you to Tom and Pete's level, what does the future hold?
I'd say it is a good video in the sense of the modern climbing video vernacular. But it could have been a lot better.
"To gain any lasting worth from what the desert has to offer, we had to learn to put our pitons and ropes away and go exploring in silence, keeping our eyes open. It wasn't easy. We wasted a lot of time climbing until we got the knack."
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Lasti
Trad climber
Budapest
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Nov 30, 2012 - 08:30am PT
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Wide Boyz: Awesome.
As a young pup in the OW game, it's good to see that this particular form of art is not reserved for the more... experienced. Having said that, I know I have nowhere near the level of commitment needed to climb anything meaningful to anyone else. But damn if I ain't having fun!
Ed, it would seem that you and I have similar desires when it comes to great films, not merely good ones. Which climbing films would fit the bill for you?
Lasti
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Nov 30, 2012 - 11:06am PT
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I'm not sure, I'll review the list, but, setting the bar high, a video that could be accessible to the general public, that pulls them in and has them their with protagonists, is true to the climbing community, and necessarily addresses the question we never can answer even to our ourselves: "why do this?"
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Great review Russ! Your are right about the work they put in. That's their craft, putting in so much honest effort training, directed intelligently, over two long years.
Hard to see on the climbing footage as they make it all look easy. On the extra movie bits they hold some kind of clinic on offwidth techniques, set up a OW roofcrack. They sail effortlessly across the beast; everyone else who tries is struggling, can barely hang from the crack let alone make a single move.
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caughtinside
Social climber
Oakland, CA
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My review, copied and pasted from the Source of All Things WIde:
Just watched the film yesterday, fantastic!! I think this is the first climbing film I have ever paid for, such was my anticipation.
I have to say I loved every bit of the film. The story, the climbing footage, the interviews. I will echo that I was a bit disappointed to not see more climbs featured in the movie. The ticklist was so legendary, I would have liked to have seen more of those routes. I haven't been to Veudawoo and would love to see more of that spot. This thing was solid entertainment and I only wish it was twice as long!
Very refreshing not to have all the whooping and hollering prominent in American sport and bouldering vids.
My non climber gf watched the thing with us and loved it as well. The commentary from Tom's wife had her crying with laughter at times, I think she can relate. Was funny when Jaybro popped up and she said 'Hey, isn't that the wheat grass enema fan we had thanksgiving with?"
Lowlights: She seemed to think Tom was cuter than Pete. Bad news for me, since I look more like Pete.
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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Russ, Ed, Caught--thanks for your entertaining, articulate, intelligent reviews.
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Sonic
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Downloading it right now! Great sunday afternoon activity when you cant climb!
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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I got it (just now) instantly.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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it took a while for me, and it kept getting interrupted in some mysterious way, eventually I shut everything off, suspended backups launched the down load and when to sleep...
that was midnight, apparently by 2:49am it had downloaded completely
the file is 2.6 GB
so I was getting an average download speed of 256 kB/s
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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You gotta have "wide" bandwidth.......
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murcy
Gym climber
sanfrancisco
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That is to say, the email came instantly. The download is taking about an hour.
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SuperTopo on the Web
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Let us know!